Join the Conversation

Basking in warmth, cities prepare for winter

Chris Mayhew, Amy Scalf and Melissa Stewart
2 a.m. EDT June 9, 2014

Last winter’s near record snowfall put big dents in municipal budgets. Northern Kentucky municipalities are crunching numbers for road salt and overtime as they put together budgets for next year.
(Photo:
File photo
)

BURLINGTON – Outside the May 27 Boone County Fiscal Court meeting, the temperature was 82 degrees, but inside, county leaders were discussing salt contracts for snow and ice removal for the coming winter.

County commissioners voted to accept a Morton Salt contract for $84.27 per ton – a difference of almost $17 more per ton, or 22.4 percent higher – than the previous contract for $67.29 per ton.

If the coming winter requires as much salt as last year – 11,300 tons in Boone County – the total salt cost would be $952,251, or $192,100 more than last year.

Boone County Administrator Jeff Earlywine said the county’s salt dome was filled with salt purchased under the previous contract, for $67.29 per ton.

ACROSS KENTUCKY

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, online at www.ncdc.noaa.gov, the Cincinnati area received 41.2 inches of snow, or 2.3 times as much snow as normal. This year’s total was 1.2 inches shy of the highest recorded snowfall of 42.4 inches in 1978.

“We got more snow,” said Nancy Wood, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s District 6, which covers Boone, Campbell and Kenton, as well as eight more counties.

That’s the reason why she said District 6 had the highest costs among the state’s 12 districts.

District 6’s costs, $9.9 million, accounted for 15 percent of the state’s costs and totaled nearly $1.5 million more than the next lowest district.

Two districts had totals more than $8 million each: District 4, which includes 11 counties in north central Kentucky, and District 7, 12 counties including Fayette in central Kentucky.

Not counting the $304,712 used for snow and ice removal from the central office area, the average district cost was just over $5.6 million.

Wood said every year, the totals are different.

“Each district contracts trucks and salt for their counties. Prices variations are minimal, just most of the winter hit our area,” she said. “In 2010, the ice storm hit western Kentucky really bad and their cost was significantly more than other districts.”

ALEXANDRIA

Mayor Bill Rachford said Alexandria started off with more of a salt stockpile than usual, due to the mild winter prior.

He said the city’s Public Works Director Sam Trapp likes to carry over about 100 tons of salt, and they use a long-term planning process.

“We use a 10-year average usage when it comes to ordering for the upcoming year,” said Rachford.

He said the city budgeted $30,000 for salt in the fiscal year ending in June, and they only went over by $1,700. Likewise, overtime cost for public works employees was held to $800 over the budget. The city is budgeting $45,000 for the coming fiscal year.

Rachford said a number of techniques were used to keep city roads clear.

“As the winter went on, we starting mixing in sand with the salt to stretch our supply. We also pre-treated whenever possible. The conditions must be right in order to make this effective,” he said. “Throughout the winter, our public works crew did a great job of keeping our streets cleared. We got many compliments on the job they did.”

CRESCENT SPRINGS

Having two contracts to buy salt from two different places kept the city from running out, said George Ripberger, director of public services. The city buys salt under a contract with Kenton County, and was able to turn to a private company to buy salt under a reserve contract, Ripberger said.

“You’ve always got to have a backup plan,” he said.

The city budgeted $15,000 to buy salt, and spent $27,800 instead this winter. There were about 500 tons of salt used to treat streets this winter compared to about 300 tons used the previous year, Ripberger said.

This year’s year’s budget will remain at $15,000 for salt, he said. The city also budgeted $5,000 in overtime for public works for snow removal.

“This year we went over budget on overtime by about $8,000,” he said. “It was kind of an unusual winter.”

The department went through 2,028 tons of salt with the cost of about $141,000. The previous season they utilized just 663 tons of salt. A total of 1,709 man hours were put in last winter, however overtime costs were kept to a minimum, Bogard said, but working teams on a rotating schedule.

Although the city won’t go out to bid for next winter’s salt contract until August, Bogard said that he expects to see an increase in salt prices, although he’s unsure by how much.

To prepare for next winter, he said the department plans to offer training for staff this fall. For some staff members this past winter was only their first or second time in the field. Bogard said they’re also doing equipment maintenance and have made room for the next fiscal year’s budget to replace a truck.

“Our goal is to improve our service delivery,” he said. “It was a rough season. We’re proud of how we performed and right now we’re enjoying the sunny weather.”

FLORENCE

Florence’s public services department was hit hard by the winter season. According to Public Services Director Eric Hall, 2,633 overtime hours were used, a little more than double the previous winter’s total man hours. The total cost for overtime was $111,244.

Cost for salt this past winter was $124,092. Hall said by the end of the season 1,859 tons of salt was used; only 830 tons was used the previous season.

However, there’s no rest for the weary. At the end of this winter season, Hall said the department began plans for the next. They’ve learned their lesson too and are taking precautions for an above average winter.

“Our plans started by filling our salt storage bins and making the necessary repairs to equipment,” he said. “We’ve also worked with Boone County to establish a salt vendor for next year. Financially we’ve taken precautions to be prepared for an average to above average winter season.”

FORT MITCHELL

Fort Mitchell’s salt doubled from the previous winter with 500 tons used during the 2013-2014 winter. The cost was about $34,000, said Public Works Director Dave Noll. A total of 375 overtime hours was used at a cost of a little more than $9,000.

“This cost has to be absorbed by the city,” Noll said. “Mayor Wiest and the public works department modified other planned budget items to cope with the extra costs. This means other things can’t get done as quickly as we’d like.”

Noll said the department has already started planning for next year by restocking supplies and equipment.

“Our crew spent more than two weeks refurbishing the trucks, plows and salt spreading equipment,” he said. “Our trucks and equipment took quite a beating this past winter so a complete overhaul was done for all the equipment.”

FORT THOMAS

Salt supplies ran low, but not completely out in the city this winter, said City Administrator Don Martin.

“We almost ran out of salt, but a shipment came just in the nick of time,” he said. “We didn’t run out.”

Salt costs increased to $94,000 this winter and the city used 1,251 tons, said City Administrator Don Martin. The city paid $51,294 the previous year for salt and used 698 tons. Overtime costs to remove snow increased to $23,368 for this winter compared with $7,941 for the previous year, Martin said.

In an effort to buy salt when it is cheapest in the summer, and to have ample supplies in the winter, the city is preparing to begin construction of a new salt storage bin, he said. The idea is to start work in the late summer or fall this year, and for the project to take two years, Martin said. Plans are for most construction on the salt bin to be done using in-house labor, he said.

INDEPENDENCE

City Administrator Dan Groth said dealing with repairs was the hardest part of winter survival for Independence.

“Our biggest challenge in dealing with this past winter is the damages done to our streets. We have over 25 square miles of streets and that added up to more pothole repair than we normally have,” he said.

Groth said the city spent twice as much as budgeted for snow removal.

“We budgeted $75,000 and spent a little over $150,000. That does not include what we spent on overtime and gas for our own Public Works employees,” he said. “We have budgeted the same amount as last year for snow removal because we take a five-year average cost and it seems to have been averaging $75,000 for the past 10 years. We will continue to purchase our salt from Kenton County and do not anticipate any shortages.”

UNION

The city paid extra to truck salt in from outside the region this winter, said Bryan Miller, city commissioner for public works.

“We couldn’t even get salt locally,” Miller said. “We bought salt from Cleveland (twice), and we bought salt from Detroit.”

The budget for the upcoming winter has been increased from last year’s $85,000 to just over $100,000, he said. The city does not have a public works department, and instead contracts with Perfection Landscaping for salting and snow removal, Miller said.

“For snow removal and salt, we probably spent $190,000,” Miller said.

The previous year’s salt and snow removal costs were $72,000, he said.